Pope Francis, responding to conservative criticisms that his economic and social ideas smack of communism, said in an Italian newspaper interview Sunday that he is not a Marxist but that even Marxists can be good people.
Last month, talk radio show host Rush Limbaugh railed against the pope for written comments made on the world economy. Limbaugh, who is not Catholic, said that parts of the document were “pure Marxism coming out of the mouth of the pope.”
A member of the all-male Jesuit order associated with progressive social policies, Francis said, “Marxist ideology is wrong. But in my life I have known many Marxists who are good people, so I don’t feel offended.”
In last month’s document, seen as a platform for his papacy, Francis attacked unfettered capitalism as “a new tyranny” said an “economy of exclusion and inequality” had proven to be deadly for many people around the world.
In his response to the critics, Francis said he was not speaking “as a technician but according to the social doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church, and this does not mean being Marxist.” He said he was just trying to present a “snapshot of what is happening” in the world today.
In another document last week, Francis said huge salaries and bonuses were symptoms of an economy based on greed and called again for nations to narrow the wealth gap.
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